10.5 month old refusing 2nd nap

[Roisin n]

Hi, my little girl is 10.5 months and during the last week has been refusing to go down for her 2nd nap. She's generally very happy most of the day. It exhausted by bedtime.

This is our routine:

Wake:5:30/6
Eat:7(milk) then breakfast 1 hour after

S: 9:45 (up to one hour then I wake her)

Eat:11- milk

Sleep: 2:15/2:30 (before she's started refusing her nap)

Eat: 3:30 - milk

Dinner :5:30

Bed:7pm

Is our routine off? Should I wake her from her first nap early to try and squeeze the second one in?

Thanks

[becj86]

There are a few options here. Ideally, whatever you choose should allow her at least one long nap from which she is not woken before 2hr. You're headed for dropping to one nap soon and you really need her to be able to sleep a long nap when you get to that stage.

Some people prefer to do long/short, so a long first nap and a short second nap.
Pros: if the first nap is bad, you get another shot at a long nap later. If the second nap doesn't happen, at least baby got a decent sleep somewhere in the day.
Cons: Most babies will at some point refuse the second nap which can be distressing and make afternoon and BT difficult.

Others prefer to do short/long, so a short first nap (really short, capped at ~20-30mins) and then a long PM nap which ends up being closer to the time a single nap would be and its reasonably easy to just drop the CN when LO is ready for one nap.

I think the routine needs a change-up. Some suggestions:
6am - WU
10:30 - long nap - let her go, only wake after 2hr
12/12:30ish, wake
3:30/4pm - catnap (may have to do this in a pram/sling/carrier/car - wherever she will sleep)
7 - BT

6 - WU
10 - 20-30min CN
12:30/1 - nap as long as she likes, can wake after 2hr
7 - BT